NEW YORK — That's a Mike Tyson quote, and a good one, from his glory days knocking out heavyweight contenders left and right. The message is both blunt and accurate. A lot like his punches back then actually.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson (AP Photo)

The point is that in any contest each competitor has a plan for how they are going to counter what it is their opponent does best. That doesn't mean they will do it effectively. Not by a long shot.

Often times, even if they know exactly what is coming they have a difficult time because they haven't been able to prepare for that level of performance. Usually because they haven't previously seen it and there is no way to replicate it. For Tyson, it was his raw speed, ferocity and punching power. For the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, it might be Russell Wilson's athletic ability.

Most of the top young athletic playmakers at the quarterback position are in the NFC. Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III (when healthy) and Wilson. The Broncos have faced only one of them, RG3, and he wasn't even close to full speed for that mid-season encounter.

In fairness, the Broncos did play against Terrelle Pryor so this isn't their first time going against a quarterback who can run. Problem is, Pryor isn't near where those other guys are as a passer and Wilson is an entirely different type of runner than Pryor, who's a long-legged thoroughbred. Wilson is quick like a bunny rabbit. It is tough to run down a horse once they get a head steam but it's even tougher to even get a hand on a rabbit.

I'm sure Denver has a good plan. Of course they do. Defensive ends will try to keep contain, don't let Wilson get around the edge. The defensive tackles will try their best to stay in their lanes and not get washed out and thus create seams for Russell to dart through.

It's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing to do it.

Russell Wilson has an agility and a quickness that few quarterbacks have ever possessed. At times, he's looked like a modern day Fran Tarkenton, which can be both good and bad. The good is that he's been able to run around, make a few plays and help his team win. The bad is that he is not seeing and not making easy throws that he should.

In fact, the quarterback the Broncos faced who most favorably compares to Wilson's Houdini act in the pocket? Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys, a team that put 48 points on the Denver defense this year.

The question is whether or not the Broncos can hunt Wilson down. Can they finish once they get pressure or will he elude them and throw a couple of deep game-changing bombs like the one to wide receiver Doug Baldwin in the NFC championship game against the 49ers?

Not only are the Broncos defensive linemen not used to chasing after a guy like Wilson, but the defensive backs aren't accustomed to covering receivers that long if their big guys up front can't chase No. 3 down.

WORKS BOTH WAYS

What about when the Broncos have the football?

I think on some level the same Tyson theory applies. Everybody has the same plan against Peyton and the boys. You have to "disrupt the timing" somehow yet very few are capable of actually doing it. Every scout team in the NFL can run the same plays the Broncos run leading up to the game, but they can't do it with nearly the same level of efficiency. I tend to doubt many quarterbacks on the "look" team are getting the ball out of their hands in 2.2 seconds or less on a consistent basis. If they were they probably wouldn't be on the scout team very long.

Yet that is the task in front of the Seahawks and they are as well-equipped as any team in the NFL to accomplish it because they may be as good as anyone at disrupting their opponent's timing at multiple levels of the defense.

It starts with the defensive line and an already potent pass rush last season led by Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons was bolstered this offseason by the additions of free agents Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, giving the Seahawks a "NASCAR" package of four legitimate pass rushers at one time that reminds some of the 2007 Giants squad that knocked off the most prolific passing attack in NFL history at that time in the 18-0 Patriots.

The beauty for the Seahawks is in the numbers. The Patriots had one good rusher (Chandler Jones), one average one (Rob Ninkovich) and two defensive tackles who aren't pass rushers at all. That allowed the Broncos to focus on Jones and keep Peyton upright the entire day.

Denver has no such luxury against the Seahawks.

"What makes Seattle so tough is that you can't slide to any one guy because all four guys can rush," Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo, a starter for the only team to beat both Super Bowl squads, told me recently on SiriusXM NFL Radio.

Much like Sunday's Pro Bowl when it becomes clear how difficult it is for offensive linemen to hold their own with all of those one-on-one matchups against elite rushers, it will not be easy for each Bronco pass protector to hold up for all four quarters. The key will be pressure up the middle which likely means Bennett, who has become one of the better interior rushers in the NFL.

The other way of disrupting Manning is to throw the timing off with his receivers. The Seahawks do as good of a job of jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage as anyone in the NFL. That will be their task on Super Bowl Sunday.

Of course the Broncos know that and will have a plan for it, including the much talked about rub/pick plays depending on your perspective. Which may make the officials, and their willingness to call offensive pass interference and/or defensive holding on the spot.

Knowing how both teams like to play, the NFL and its officials will have a plan for those situations on Sunday. Everybody does.